Upon hearing Evan Morton's voice, Ed turned around and glanced back. He saw some Specters that had breached the Hunter defense line of the camp, gathering together and quickly forming into a monstrous hound, nearly the same size as Giant Hound Soth.

Ed's heart sank immediately. He hadn't expected that Giant Hound Soth could create a clone. Now, the two strongest—Evan Morton and Amelia—were both fully occupied by the massive Giant Hound Soth ahead of them.

Meanwhile, the other Hunters were busy dealing with the surrounding Specters. The Hunters left behind near the golden gate were not as strong as those defending the camp, and they likely wouldn't stand a chance against this clone of Soth.

If Giant Hound Soth managed to destroy the golden gate, things would become dire. Not only would they lose the potential reinforcements, but the seal on Soth would also be broken.

The Soth currently appearing was already weakened significantly within the seal. If it fully escaped, the Giant Hound Soth, known as the Pale Death God, would be unstoppable—no one would be able to defeat it.

Ed took a deep breath. He needed to find a way to change the situation.

What was supposed to be a mission to find a way to cure the Moonlit Frost Poisonous Mist inside him had unexpectedly turned into such a dangerous predicament.

He whispered to Finniel, "Last time, when the monster Vil used Delphilis' eye, you weren't affected because you had a protective artifact. Can that artifact still be used?"

Finniel widened her eyes and instinctively replied, "Ed, what are you planning to do? If you recklessly use Delphilis' eye, there will definitely be huge side effects... you..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Ed interrupted her, continuing, "Didn't Giant Hound Soth say it? The eye of Delphilis fused perfectly with me. Since it's a perfect fusion, we don't need to worry about side effects for now."

Finniel looked at him with concern. Under her gaze, Ed stepped forward and shouted at the clone of Giant Hound Soth, "Hey, little dog, come here!"

The clone of Giant Hound Soth fumed with anger. As the Pale Death God, it had harvested countless lives, even devouring the Elf Clan's queen in the past. Now, a mere high-tier Silver Hunter—a creature as insignificant as an ant—dared to humiliate it in such a way!

Giant Hound Soth's clone opened its mouth and slowly said, "Delphilis is dead. If you can merge with his body fragments, I'll spare your life."

"However, from another perspective, it really bothers me that the body fragments of Delphilis are being possessed by a mere insect like you."

"Don't worry, after I kill you, I'll also destroy that damn golden gate."

"Once I'm free, all humans will die. You filthy, despicable creatures should all end up like those cruel and arrogant elves, becoming nothing but tortured Specters!"

In an instant, Giant Hound Soth's clone stopped moving toward the golden gate and instead turned around, rapidly closing the distance to Ed.

Ed, seeing the approaching Specters and the clone of Giant Hound Soth, took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened his right eye again, the sharp teeth of Giant Hound Soth were almost at Ed's neck, and the gray Specter was about to touch his body.

But just at this life-or-death moment, Ed's right eye suddenly emitted black light.

The originally gray sealed land was now filled with a deep, overwhelming black.

Even Evan Morton, Amelia, and the giant Giant Hound Soth were forced to stop fighting, their bodies frozen, as they began to hear strange, illusory sounds in their ears.

The clone of Giant Hound Soth next to Ed was hit by a surge of black energy, sending it flying through the air, rolling, and crashing heavily to the ground.

Compared to the surrounding Hunters, Giant Hound Soth was less affected, and Evan Morton and Amelia soon regained their senses.

Their power was strong—far beyond what a high-tier Silver Hunter like Ed could control.

However, for the clone of Giant Hound Soth, it could not shake off the influence of Delphilis' eye so quickly.

Seizing the opportunity, Ed did not hesitate. He raised the golden longsword and, taking advantage of the clone's weakened state, drove the blade into the clone's mouth, piercing through its skull.

In an instant, the clone of Giant Hound Soth collapsed to the ground, slowly dissipating. Countless gray dust particles began to drift toward Ed.

Ed frowned, instinctively trying to move away from the gray dust. But in the process, he accidentally brushed against one of the particles.

A wave of invisible energy spread from Ed's body, and the Specters around him—frozen in place—showed signs of struggling in their gray human faces.

They began to tremble uncontrollably, crazily inching toward Ed.

At the same time, the massive Giant Hound Soth, surrounded by Evan Morton and Amelia, suddenly looked at Ed with disbelief and said, "No, how can you absorb the Specters here? This is impossible! Even if Delphilis himself came here, this wouldn't happen!"

"Who are you?"

"What kind of monster are you?"

A look of fear appeared on Giant Hound Soth's face. It instinctively tried to retreat, but then realized that the only way to stop the Specters from getting close to Ed and being absorbed by him was to kill Ed completely.

The Specters here, the fragmented souls that made up this space, were the very reason why it had been able to remain sealed for so long without dying. If all these soul fragments were to disappear, it would die as well.

For the first time, Soth, who had always brought fear to others, was experiencing fear itself.

It seemed to have lost its mind, disregarding the attacks from Evan Morton and Amelia. Without any hesitation, it moved toward Ed, ignoring everything in its path.

Amelia and Evan Morton, though not fully understanding what was happening, knew one thing for sure: they could not let Soth get close to Ed.

For a moment, Soth was held in place by Evan Morton and Amelia.

Soth immediately shouted loudly, "He is the true monster!"

"The Eye of Delphilis didn't perfectly merge with him—it was absorbed! He absorbed it!"

"This monster absorbed Delphilis' eye! He's more terrifying than Delphilis! Don't you realize this?!"

"Delphilis couldn't absorb these Specters, but he can! Look, his power is increasing! He's about to break through to Gold level Hunter!"

The fear and madness in Soth's voice were unmistakable, not a hint of pretense. Hearing these words, Evan Morton and Amelia instinctively glanced at Ed.

They saw that the Specters, who had been fighting other Hunters and had been frozen in place by Ed using the Eye of Delphilis, were now swirling around Ed like a tide, continuously dissipating and turning into gray dust.

The gray dust floated around and enveloped Ed, completely losing its offensive power, becoming soft and fluid, like water.

Ed, at this moment, was overwhelmed with shock, as the information prompts appearing in front of his eyes were rapidly refreshing at an incredible speed:

[Progress toward breaking through to low-tier Gold Hunter: 21%]

[Progress toward breaking through to low-tier Gold Hunter: 22%]

[Progress toward breaking through to low-tier Gold Hunter: 23%]

...

[Progress toward breaking through to low-tier Gold Hunter: 100%]

[Successfully broke through to low-tier Gold Hunter]

[Progress toward breaking through to mid-tier Gold Hunter: 1%]

...

[Progress toward breaking through to mid-tier Gold Hunter: 2%]

[Progress toward breaking through to mid-tier Gold Hunter: 3%]

[Progress toward breaking through to mid-tier Gold Hunter: 4%]

...

The Specters around Ed continued to dissipate, and the gray dust floating around him soon turned white, falling to the ground.

The once gray sealed space now had a touch of white, which slowly began to spread, growing more and more.

Ed's strength was also steadily increasing, with his progress rapidly advancing. It wasn't until all the Specters around him had vanished that it finally came to a stop.

[Progress toward breaking through to high-tier Gold Hunter: 11%]

Ed looked at the information prompt in front of him, as well as the power constantly welling up within him. He couldn't help but clench his fist and turn his gaze toward Giant Hound Soth.

Ed had seen those Specters, originally gathered together, condense into the distant Giant Hound Soth. This meant that if he could absorb Giant Hound Soth, his power would definitely continue to grow.

However, all the Hunters around him, including Finniel, Evan Morton, and Amelia, were now staring at Ed with wide eyes, their gazes fixed on him.

To them, it seemed like a dream—how could a high-tier Silver Hunter absorb Specters that no one else could deal with?

Not only that, but his strength had risen from high-tier Silver Hunter to high-tier Gold Hunter in such a short amount of time.

Even geniuses needed several years, or even decades, to gain such an increase, but Ed had done it in mere minutes!

Some Hunters from Holy City instinctively took a few steps back, their eyes filled with fear as they seemed to understand the truth behind Giant Hound Soth's earlier words.

Ed was not human. He was an unimaginable monster!

Even Evan Morton and Amelia, at this moment, set aside their focus on Giant Hound Soth. Holding their weapons, they aimed them directly at Ed.

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